8748: Mitt Catches Foot In Mouth.

The New York Daily News reported Mitt Romney was backpedaling after suggesting it was time to “hang” President Obama. Actually, Romney meant to say Obama’s policies were the linchpin… no wait, he should have said Obama must be whipped into shape… that is, Americans shouldn’t be slaves to the Obama administration’s… um, or maybe Obama is a cotton-picking… oh, never mind.

Mitt Romney suggests it’s time to ‘hang’ President Obama during stop in New Hampshire

By Nina Mandell, Daily News Staff Writer

Mitt Romney scrambled to do some damage control after he suggested it was time to “hang” President Obama in a speech in New Hampshire Friday night.

The former Massachusetts governor and probable 2012 presidential candidate was speaking at a dinner when he said in response to an attendee’s question, “Reagan came up with this great thing about the ‘misery index’ and he hung that around Jimmy Carter’s neck and that had a lot to do with Jimmy Carter losing. Well we’re going to have to hang the ‘Obama Misery Index’ around his neck.”

Romney went on to describe how people in the U.S. are suffering because of high fuel prices, foreclosures and bankruptcies.

“We’re going to hang him with that,” Romney said before catching himself and adding, “so to speak, metaphorically.”

Seeming to know that he had just severely misspoke, Romney then added, “You have to be careful these days.”

On Saturday morning, his spokesperson Andrea Saul told CNN in an email that any stories of the remarks were “an exaggeration.”

“It is not what the governor meant and that was very clear in what he actually said. It’s a ridiculous exaggeration of his actual comments,” she said.

Romney, who announced he was forming an exploratory committee earlier this month, is considered a possible favorite to win the GOP nomination.

When asked if he would participate in the Republicans’ first debate in South Carolina next week, he answered “Stay tuned,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

Romney’s spokesperson did not immediately return an email request for comment to The News.